Gopal Kanda eyes vice-chairman post as BJP-HLP alliance dominates in Sirsa
In the recently held municipal elections in Sirsa, the BJP and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) alliance secured a massive victory. The alliance won 20 out of the 32 wards and claimed the Chairman's post. While all candidates fought under the BJP symbol, many of the victorious councillors are supporters of former minister and HLP supremo Gopal Kanda. With this, it is expected that the Kanda brothers will try to place one of their supporters in the Vice-Chairman’s position.
The victory marks the second consecutive term for the BJP in the Chairman’s post. The last time, the BJP had a Chairperson was in 2016 when Sheela Sehgal won the post. This time, the Kanda brothers played a significant role in securing the BJP's win. However, Gobind Kanda stated that the name for the Vice-Chairman’s position will be decided from above, in line with the party's system.
Among the 20 winning BJP councillors are figures like Sunpreet Sodhi from Ward 4, Jaspal Singh from Ward 5, Suman Sharma from Ward 7 and many more. Over 10 of these councillors are known to be supporters of Gopal Kanda, which has raised questions about his influence in the upcoming decisions.
Sirsa has a large voting base from communities like Agarwal, Punjabi, Saini, and the SC category. The BJP may use the Vice-Chairman’s post to further strengthen its connection with these groups. Since the city’s current MLA is from the Punjabi community and the new Chairman is from the SC community, appointing someone from the Agarwal community to the Vice-Chairperson's role could help the BJP balance its voter base.
Although the election was fought under the BJP symbol, it was strategically masterminded by Gopal Kanda and his brother Gobind. After the victory, the Chairman candidate, Shanti Swaroop Valmiki, first visited Tara Baba’s Kutia with the Kanda brothers before heading to the BJP office. This shows the Kanda brothers’ significant influence in the outcome of the elections.
Congress faces major setback
The results of the Sirsa Municipal Corporation elections have dealt a significant blow to the Congress party. Despite having a Member of Parliament and a legislator from the city, the Congress not only lost the Chairperson’s post but also trailed behind the BJP in 22 out of the 32 wards.
What’s even more surprising is that in one-fourth of the wards, that is, 8 out of 32, Congress-supported candidates came in third place. In these areas, Independent candidates received more votes than Congress-supported candidates. This is particularly shocking as just five months ago, Congress had won the Assembly elections in the city.
In the municipal elections, Congress only contested the Chairperson’s post under the party symbol, while Congress MLA Gokul Setia personally chose candidates for the ward councillor posts. Gokul Setia even released a list of his preferred candidates. Despite his efforts, only 10 of his supported candidates were able to win the councillor seats.
